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| Charles Bittel III,O.D.,Inc. Happy Holidays! |
December 2015 |
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Happy Holidays! We hope you were able to enjoy some down time over Thanksgiving weekend and that your December holiday preparations are in full swing. This is a time of year when we take some long weekends off to spend time with family and friends, and when we are able to reflect upon how lucky we are to have such amazing work and patient families. But it's also the time of year for insurances to be used and flex spending accounts to be drained. Which means that our relaxing long weekends are balanced out by hectic days in the office. But in the end, the hectic days are yet another reason to be thankful.
A recent event, not Christmas related, but involving Christmas colors, was the inspiration for this this month's newsletter on color vision deficiencies. You may recall about a month ago when the NFL unveiled Nike's new "Color Rush" uniforms when the Bills played the Jets. Unfortunately, viewers with color vision deficiencies, or color blindness, could not distinguish the Bills' red uniforms from the Jets' green uniforms. So for those that are interested, we elaborate a little on the nature of color blindness in the article below.
We hope you enjoy this Christmas-color themed information and that you ultimately have a wonderful holiday season, whatever the colors may be, with your loved ones. Thank you all again for your support in 2015. And remember that if you have vision insurance or flex money to use by Dec. 31st, call now for an appointment because it gets more and more hectic around here as we approach the end of the year. Happy Holidays and an early Happy New Year!!!
Sincerely,
Dr. Charlie Bittel (Junior)
Dr. Chuck Bittel (Senior)
Dr. Joo Chi
and Staff
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Color Vision
In the introduction
above we refer to color vision deficiencies more so than color blindness, because the term "color blind" can be a bit misleading. Those that are labeled as color blind can often see many colors normally. But likely there are certain colors that they are unable to distinguish from one another.
The most common form of color vision deficiency is a red-green deficiency. An estimated 8% of males have some degree of red-green color deficiency, while less than 1% of females have a this trait. A less common form of color deficiency is a blue-yellow deficiency.
Those with color vision deficiencies primarily have difficulty distinguishing between the colors involved. They don't
necessarily
see the involved colors as shades of grey, they just have a hard time telling red from green or blue from yellow
.
Hence the difficulty in distinguishing the Bills from the Jets in the "Color Rush" game.
So why do people suffer from color vision deficiencies? Let's explore the science a bit...
The tissue at the back of the eye that gathers visual information, the retina, is made up of 10 layers. The layer of cells within the retina that is stimulated by light to gather the visual information is the photoreceptor layer. There are 2 types of photoreceptors, rods and cones. The cones are responsible for color vision. There are 3 types of cones, each sensitive to a different range on the color spectrum. The degree of severity of the color deficiency is related to how many of the 3 cone types are missing or altered. If somebody is missing 2 or all 3 of the cone pigments, they will be
severely
color deficient and their world will most closely resemble black and white television. If somebody is missing one of the 3 cone pigments, they will be moderately color deficient. The colors that they struggle distinguishing between will depend on which of the 3 cone pigments is absent. And is somebody has one of the 3 cone pigments simply altered in it's
sensitivity
, they will be only mildly color deficient.
If you suspect that you or a loved one is color deficient, it is important to get tested as early as possible. If a child is color deficient, their teachers should be informed so that they can appropriately adjust assignments or testing where colors are involved. If a teenager or adult is color deficient, they should start thinking about career opportunities in which a color deficiency might pose problems. Electricians, graphic designers, certain types of engineers, and law enforcement agents are all professionals that need accurate color vision to be effective. If someone has a specific career goal where normal color vision is a requirement, it is best that they know whether or not they are color deficient before they go through months or arduous applications, classes, and testing.
As for the NFL, hopefully their lesson has been learned and they will no longer feature red vs. green in their Color Rush games. And if a loved one of yours has a red-green color deficiency, show a little extra sympathy during this holiday season if their inability to appreciate the Christmas colors dampens their holiday spirit.
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About Us
Dr. Chuck Bittel (Senior) has been practicing in Yorba Linda for over 30 years. His son, Dr. Charlie Bittel III (Junior) has been practicing in Yorba Linda for the last 9 years and took over the practice in December 2012. The business has continued to grow through referrals of family and friends so we are always honored to see your loved ones and feel free to give us a Yelp if you see fit! We are also the first business in all of California to register with the new referral app GWIG (Go Where I Go)!
Learn more about Dr. Bittel Senior and Junior and about their practice on their website and Facebook page.
For appointments call 714-779-8521 or email:
[email protected]
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Sunglasses Sale!!!
Present this coupon between now and 12/31/15 for 25% off non-prescription sunglasses and 30% off prescription sunglasses. Offer cannot be combined with insurance.
Offer is valid if paying with HSA or flex spending accounts.
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| Charles Bittel, O.D., Inc.
20399 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, California 92886 714-779-8521 drbittel.com |
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